My wonderful government and what it says about depression.

Earlier, I was browsing all of my news feeds (hooray for RSS!) and I noticed an interesting article on the gay.com feed.

It talks about a site that the US government put together for parents talking to their children about all kinds of issues. It ranges from "development and health" through "parenting", and even "risky behavior".

Now ... this page annoys me greatly. They discuss the "indications" of chronic depression.

Sadness that does not go away (males may primarily exhibit anger)
Low energy level (fatigue)
Sleeping too much or too little
Waking up in the middle of the night or very early in the morning
Regular physical complaints that don't get better with treatment
Restlessness and irritability
Poor appetite and weight loss
Craving sugar, chocolate, or starchy foods
Large appetite and weight gain
Withdrawal from friends or family and normal activities
Hard time concentrating, poor memory, or hard time making decisions
Drop in school or work performance or both
Anger and rage, and or hostility and aggression (in males this may replace sadness)
Problems with authority
Risky behaviors such as sexual promiscuity and alcohol or drug abuse
Loss of pleasure in normal activities once enjoyed
Feelings of guilt, hopelessness, or low worth
Overreaction to criticism
Thoughts about death
Suicidal thoughts
Acting out behaviors in children (and adolescents)

Now ... Many of these, I can understand, but why do they feel the need to say "(males may primarily exhibit anger)"? I don't get angry when I get depressed. Neither do quite a few of the other men I know with depression. Where it gets far more annoying is when they recommend that youth "Become involved in church, civic or community groups" because they "may help people avoid depression". I don't know about anyone else, but I very much blame my church for my depression in the first place. Well, church and my family.

That alone wouldn't be enough to inspire me to rant about this site, but they go on. And on, and on, and on! They have this page on Abstinence, but absolutely no information about condom education or anything else. Not only that, but the only mention they make of sexual orientation is to say something about "alternative lifestyles" and "If you believe your adolescent may be gay, or is experiencing difficulties with gender identity or sexual orientation issues, consider seeing a family therapist who shares your values to clarify and work through these issues."

So rather than opening your mind, my government is advocating finding a counselor who "shares your values". To the people who elected him, this means finding a pastor who claims to counsel "families in need" or "youth struggling with sexual orientation issues" or similar. This sickens me. Then again, the president of said government seems to have won his office by promoting an amendment that would codify discrimination into the constitution of the nation he leads.

Don't mind me. I'm just really frustrated with the stupid things I see my government do.